Pain is Only Relevant if it Still Hurts
by City-of-Shadow.Hunters
Summary: Mei Tsumo is what some might call a bad girl. She's an S-Ranked Criminal, part of the Akatsuki; can easily defeat an opponant and has a dangerous fondness for explosions. GaaraxOC


Pain is something that we were taught from a young age to hate, to fear. But it's all around us; when women give birth, when you receive a papercut, when your heart gets broken, when you have that extra minced pie at Christmas and your stomach feels ready to burst. Pain is something that surrounds our every day lives, and yet people make such a big deal out of it.

This resistance to accept the normality of pain is where my kekkei genkai took form; this dark corner in your mind that cowers at the thought of pain. This is the base where my kekkei genkai resides and sharpens it's tools for battle.

I was born into the Tsumo clan who descended from Uzushiogakure alongside the Uzumaki clan and Senju clan, who both went to Konoha after it's destruction. My clan travelled to Iwagakure instead.

Growing up, I was trained to master my kekkei genkai called Seepan, which is short for Seeing Ones Pain. While attending the Academy, I befriended a boy called Deidara and we remained friends for many years. We even joined our villages Explosion Corps together.

I always felt a close bond to him, so when he left...a part of me left too.

I won't give you some soppy story about how I cried my eyes out, had to pick up the pieces alone, then became angry at him and decided to get revenge for some reason or another. My name's Mei Tsumo, not Teenage Drama. Sure, I was hurt, but pain is only a figment of the imagination and easily conquered once you know how. I was sad, but learned to master the pain and now it feels as if he's never left.

Deidara was never forgotten though. On my bedside stand I have a framed picture of his goofy face, the sun glowing off his golden hair. I do miss that idiot, but at least I don't hurt.

It was a normal April first for me, well, _at first_.

Reiko, my little brother, thought that he'd take full advantage of April Fools Day and plant a whoopee cushion under every chair in the house, fake flies in ice, fake poo that he blamed our ninja dog on. He thought he was hilarious, but nobody fell for it.

Despite the fact that they were _his_ jokes, I had to clean them up.

By three o'clock, the house was stupid-jokes free and since everyone else was out enjoying themselves, I decided to do so too. I met up with a fellow friend from the Explosion Corps Division and we had tea together. We ran into more friends and as the night wore on, visited a bar.

It wasn't until past midnight that I returned home. Considering the hour, I wasn't too worried by the deadly silence of the house. But the nearer I got to my bedroom, the more I sensed danger. I used to think that I didn't sense the enemies chakra because I was on the tipsy side, but now I know that they were S-Ranked Criminals, well able to conceal their chakra from a lowly Explosion Corps girl.

The door creaked as I opened it.

"Hm" a cold, emotionless voice said "You took your time". It was a young boy, with messy red hair and unfeeling brown orbs. He didn't look life-like at all to me, very stiff and wooden. And obviously I know the reason why now.

"Am I supposed to be sorry?" I asked. That was the thing with me, I was always straight forward. Never was I the girl to twiddle her thumbs and look shyly at the boy she liked; I came out and admitted it. If I was rejected then that was better than living forever thinking 'what if'.

Someone else snorted. They were holding my picture from my bedside table in nimble hands bathed in the moonlight. Deidara's blue eye winked at me in the darkness "Aw, keeping pictures of me near your pillow? I'm touched"

I narrowed my eyes at him "What are you doing here?"

"Went for a stroll and ended up here. Honestly, you framed _this_ picture" he waved the frame around "I look so stupid in it!"

"You always look like that" the redhead pointed out and I snorted in agreement. Upon my noise, he turned his cold eyes on me "We were sent here by our Leader. He wants you to join his organization. Refuse and you'll be killed". It seemed that he didn't beat around the bush either.

"Well if my life is being threatened, what choice do I have?" I asked "When do we leave?"

"This instant" he said "We've delayed departure long enough. Deidara has kindly packed your bag so you don't have anything to do other than leave"

I nodded and took the bag from Deidara's outstretched hands. His eyes met mine and they said a thousand words. How he missed me, how we had a lot to catch up on, how he'd explain everything later on.

The three of us were out of the village in no time, and I was sobered up by then.

I didn't worry about saying goodbye to my family. They won't be hurt by it; thanks to our inherited kekkei genkai. And just as I was thinking this, the boy who Deidara introduced as Sasori asked about my eye technique.

"What type is it?" he wondered, climbing into a puppet he'd left near by. He had informed me that he mostly always wore it, and only left it when Deidara said he wouldn't have room enough to move comfortably in my bedroom with it.

"An eye one" I answered, watching his puppeteer mastership; he could move around in that big husk fluidly and gracefully "We don't need eye contact for it either. Just turn it on and it's ready to go. Though you do need to be within distance of the chosen person, and it can only be performed on one person at a time. It causes pain in the victim"

"Not real pain surely" he said snidely.

"Of course not. Real pain doesn't exist. That's just the brains reaction to wounds. Seepan causes the victim to feel pain, and over a prolonged period of time, it will either kill them or turn them insane"

"Does it have side effects for the user?" he asked "As the Sharigan does for the Uchiha's, or what's left of them at least"

"The longer we use it, the graver we feel. Using it without turning it off for over a week will lead to the users death"

Sasori stayed silent after that, all his curiosities quenched. However, Deidara did not. He explained to me about the Akatsuki, about it's members and it's task. He also explained about leaving the village and why he couldn't say goodbye. I told him I wasn't upset by his departure and he said he wasn't surprised.

Due to our speed, we arrived at the base before the suns light had fully reached the earthen ground.

I was immediately taken to Pein, who I would be to call Leader-sama. He partnered me up with the newest member before me, a man named Kaoru Momo. He was taken into the organisation for his specialty in capture methods (he made an excellent bounty hunter). That was the reason we were paired up. He would catch our target and I would bring them to their knees.

"You are dismissed" Leader told Sasori, Deidara and I.

Sasori left without explanation, though Deidara said he was most likely gone to return working on his puppets. I was to go search for Kaoru and tell him that we were partners, then he was to show me my room, for it was beside his. All members had their own bedrooms, but near one another incase we ever needed each other urgently.

Deidara wanted to talk to me more, but said we had plenty of time to do so later.

"I really did miss you ya know, un" he hugged me tightly and I returned the embrace with just as much force. "And I you" I said. After we released one another, he retired for the night and I searched for Kaoru Momo.

I found him in the kitchen area of the base, calmly drinking a cup of tea.

His eyes were a soothing shade of caramel and his hair a messy maroon. Though he was sitting down, I could tell he was taller than me. Though considering I was four foot nine, that wasn't very difficult.

"Kaoru Momo?" I asked, just to be sure. We were the only ones in the kitchen, as the others were out on missions. Rarely were all the members together, unless performing an extraction jutsu.

"Yes" he said. His voice was deep and had a calming effect. It was hard to imagine him expertly capturing people and slaughtering them.

"My name's Mei Tsumo. Leader-sama has paired us together"

"Tsumo? No wonder we're partners. Our specialties work well together. Would you like a cup of tea?"

I nodded and he got up. Yup, he was definitely taller than me. When I said down, I reached his waist when he was standing. "I'll be but a moment" he informed me. As he was stirring the sugar into the tea, his customary Akatsuki cloak slid down his shoulders and I saw the scar running down his neck, into his shirt. He quickly pulled the cloak back on properly and returned to the table with my tea.

He never asked if I seen his scar and I never brought it up. I wouldn't have even if he didn't seem so fidgety about it. It wasn't my business to ask.

"Thank you" I sighed happily, downing the tea. Though once it settled, it mixed with the saki I'd had earlier, and was beginning to make me feel bloated.

He nodded to say that he'd heard me. "Shall I show you to your room then?"

"If you don't mind"

"Not at all". He was a polite man, and once more I found it hard to imagine him as a bounty hunter. Though looks can be deceiving. Very much so.

It was a long, cold walk to our rooms, and I was thankful for the cloak Leader had given me in his office. At first I hated the thought of it, for it would surely restrict movement which is what a ninja needs. Though upon wearing it I find it warm and roomy, plus there were hidden compartments within to hide weapons.

"Goodnight Mei" he gave me a small bow and I returned the gesture "Goodnight Kaoru".

Sleep took me quickly that night.

-X-

"Mei? Mei?" someone shook my shoulders "Mei?"

I grunted "What?"

It was Kaoru. "You must wake up now. Leader has assigned us a mission". On my first day in the organization? He sure didn't waste time.

I groggily pushed the blanket off of myself and sat up, rubbing my eyes. I can only imagine how I looked to him with my messy hair, half-lidded eyes and disheveled pajamas. "I'm awake. What is it about?"

"I'll tell you over breakfast"

"Okay. I won't be a minute getting dressed"

"I shall be in the kitchen awaiting your arrival" Kaoru swept out of my bedroom in long strides, his Akatsuki robes fluttering in his wake.

-X-

"So let me get this straight" I said, as my partner and I walked through the forest surrounding the base "We find this guy, get info outta him and kill him?"

He nodded. I felt bad, about having to torture then murder some lad, but then I mastered that inner pain into a ball, and stored it away. The Akatsuki doesn't have time for soppy killers who cry all the time.

"So what's the game plan?" I asked.

"You will use your kekkei genkai and force our needed information out of him. Then we kill him"

"And what do we do with his body?"

He shrugged. "Burn it. That will remove all evidence of our visit"

The remainder of the journey was spent in silence, until we reached the entrance to the small village, a few miles from a large town. Our victim was a man named Isasio Kuromo. He knew valuable information about the Kazekage that Leader could use to his advantage lest the need arise. Kaoru told me that he thought that Leader was planning the future capture of Sabaku no Gaara, and that he would use the information we got then.

The man Isasio Kuromo was working as a pharmacist, and considering that the village was a small one and Kaoru had excellent tracking skills, we found his store easily. The problem with a small village however, is that Kaoru and I were easily identified as strangers. Before entering the village, we discarded our recognisable cloaks in a tree. But still; we stuck out like sore thumbs.

"What can I do for you today?" Isasio Kuromo asked, standing behind the counter. He was an unattractive man to say the least.

I wasted no time and activated my kekkei genkai. I searched every corner of his mind, and easily found his biggest fear; dying. Projecting images of horrendous ways I would kill him, it didn't take long to make him crack. He was on his knees and spilling out every secret or news or here-say he'd heard about the Kazekage that he'd found out while he worked as receptionist at the Kazekage's building when he lived in Suna.

Once I de-activated Seepan, he was weeping and Kaoru slit his throat without hesitation then carried Isasio's corpse to the back of the store and set it on fire. He said that once the building was engulfed by the flames, the villagers would think that the fire caused his death.

We escaped to the roof of the pharmacy and fled from rooftop to rooftop until we reached the forest on the outskirts of the village. There we retrieved our cloaks and were back at the base before sundown. Kaoru reported to Leader while I made my way to the kitchen. I had promised to make us dinner while he reported the information we collected to Leader-sama.

As I cooked, a man with black hair and eyes to match entered the kitchen and poured himself a cup of tea. There was a comfortable silence as he drained his cup. When his tea was finished and mine and Kaoru's dinner was almost finished cooking, he decided to speak.

"Who are you?" he asked in a voice that reminded me of a stream flowing over rocks on a cold mountain.

"Mei Tsumo. And you?"

"Tsumo? Your clan are the proud owners of the Seepan. My name is Itachi Uchiha, Sharigan user"

My brows rose. "It seems we both come from powerful clans"

"What's left of them". It's true, my clan was dwindling due to attacks from other clans and a strange decrease in fertility. Though we weren't as bad as the Uchiha's, for they only had two remaining members.

"Would you ever have children?" I blurted out before my brain knew I was about to ask such a personal question "To restore your clan to its former greatness?"

The corners of his lips twitched. "That's an interesting thought Mei" was all he said, and the subject was dropped. We lapsed back into a comfortable silence after that and Kaoru came in just as I was plating the food.

"Would you like a plate? I made extra" I offered Itachi. He politely declined.

"Is Deidara out on a mission does anybody know?" I asked half way through devouring my plate. It wasn't much of a difficult mission, but I was still famished.

"I don't know" Kaoru said.

"I heard an explosion not too long before you both arrived back" Itachi said "Unless he's been assigned one within the last couple of hours, then he's still at the base"

I finished and waited for Kaoru to finish his, then brought both plates to clean. Him and Itachi left to train together and I suddenly realised I didn't know where Deidara's bedroom was. I tracked his chakra and found him in the western wing of the cave.

It was a long walk to get there. I pressed my ear to his door, but heard no movement. I decided to knock anyway, despite the fact that he might be napping. But to my pleasant surprise, the door opened.

Deidara stood wearing nothing but a large grin and a pair of boxers.

"Hey, un! Come on in" he ushered me in and I made myself comfortable on his bed, looking around his bedroom. It was relatively clean apart from some scrolls and bags of clay sprawled about. An open scroll lay on his desk, and from the weak light, I could make out that it was the beginnings of a drawing.

"How you liking it here so far?" he asked me.

"It's better than I thought it would be. But I've only been here a day and a night, not long enough to make a proper judgement of the place"

"What's Kaoru like?"

"He's very polite and kind. Though a worthy opponent"

"Good, yeah. I'd hate if you were paired up with a prick. I've never spoken to him before, so I thought he'd ignore you like he does me. Where's your room, un?"

"In the eastern wing, beside Kaoru's"

"Ugh. That's ages away, un!"

"So?"

"Well, what if I want to sneak into your room and stay up late talking, like we used to?"

"Then you'll have a long way to walk to do so"

He grinned at me, his eyes alight with the memory of the past. "Remember that time when we started at the Academy, and that chic Prima made fun of your pink hair and my amazingly long hair?"

I laughed "Oh, yeah! I forgot about that!"

"You broke her nose so bad, she lost her ability to smell. Which sucks for her because last I heard, she was dating that guy who worked at the flower shop"

We laughed up a storm.


End file.
